Data mining in a digital map database to identify blind intersections along roads and enabling precautionary actions in a vehicle

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a feature for a vehicle that enables taking precautionary actions in response to conditions on the road network around or ahead of the vehicle, in particular, a blind intersection along a section of road. A database that represents the road network is used to determine locations where a blind intersection is located along a section of road. Then, precautionary action data is added to the database to indicate a location at which a precautionary action is to be taken about the blind intersection located along the section of road. A precautionary action system installed in a vehicle uses this database, or a database derived therefrom, in combination with a positioning system to determine when the vehicle is at a location that corresponds to the location of a precautionary action. When the vehicle is at such a location, a precautionary action is taken by a vehicle system as the vehicle is approaching a blind intersection.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation under 37 C.F.R. § 1.53(b) of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/041,672 filed Feb. 11, 2016 now U.S. Pat.No. 9,797,735, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference, which is a continuation under 37 C.F.R. § 1.53(b) of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/694,252 filed Apr. 23, 2015 now U.S. Pat.No. 9,279,688, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference, which is a continuation under 37 C.F.R. § 1.53(b) of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/182,825 filed Feb. 18, 2014 now U.S. Pat.No. 9,043,127, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference, which is a continuation under 37 C.F.R. § 1.53(b) of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/156,276 filed May 30, 2008 now U.S. Pat.No. 8,688,369, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference. The present patent application is related to patentapplication Ser. No. 12/156,264, filed on May 30, 2008, now U.S. Pat.No. 9,134,133, entitled “DATA MINING TO IDENTIFY LOCATIONS OFPOTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS FOR VEHICLE OPERATION AND USE THEREOF,”the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to a method and system that enables takinga precautionary action in a vehicle, such as providing a warning to avehicle driver about a potentially difficult or hazardous drivingcondition on the road network.

Advanced driver assistance systems (“ADAS”), including active safety andfuel economy systems, have been developed to improve the comfort,efficiency, safety, and overall satisfaction of driving. Examples ofthese advanced driver assistance systems include adaptive headlightaiming, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and control,curve warning, speed limit notification, hazard warning, predictivecruise control, and adaptive shift control, as well as others. Some ofthese advanced driver assistance systems use a variety of sensormechanisms in the vehicle to determine the current state of the vehicleand the current state of the roadway in front of the vehicle. Thesesensor mechanisms may include radar, infrared, ultrasonic andvision-oriented sensors, such as digital video cameras and lidar. Someadvanced driver assistance systems also use digital map data. Digitalmap data can be used in advanced driver assistance systems to provideinformation about the road network, road geometry, road conditions andother items associated with the road and terrain around the vehicle.Digital map data is not affected by environmental conditions, such asfog, rain or snow. In addition, digital map data can provide usefulinformation that cannot reliably be provided by cameras or radar, suchas curvature, grade, bank, speed limits that are not indicated bysignage, traffic and lane restrictions, etc. Further, digital map datacan provide a predictive capability well beyond the range of othersensors or even beyond the driver's vision to determine the road aheadof the vehicle, around corners, over hills or beyond obstructions.Accordingly, digital map data can be a useful addition for some advanceddriver assistance systems.

Although these kinds of systems provide useful features, there existsroom for further improvements. For example, it would be useful toidentify locations on the road network where a relatively high number oftraffic accidents have occurred. However, statistics pertaining toaccidents are maintained by various different administrative entitiesthat use different formats, standards, reporting methods, reportingperiods, etc. Accordingly, it is difficult to obtain consistentinformation about traffic accidents on roads in a large geographicregion, such as the entire United States or Europe. Moreover, dataindicating locations where a statistically large number of trafficaccidents occur may not indicate the causes of the accidents or howaccidents can be avoided.

Accordingly, it is an objective to provide a system that facilitatestaking a precautionary action in a vehicle, such as providing as warningto a vehicle operator, when approaching a location of a blindintersection.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To address these and other objectives, the present invention comprises afeature that enables taking a precautionary action in a vehicle as thevehicle approaches a blind intersection. The precautionary action may bea warning message provided to the vehicle driver to alert the vehicledriver about the blind intersection so that the vehicle driver can payextra attention. Alternatively, the precautionary action may be anactual modification of the operation or control of the vehicle, such asbraking, accelerating, or maneuvering the vehicle, or activating asensor. Alternatively, the precautionary action may be providing aninput to an algorithm that also processes inputs from other sensors fortaking such actions. In another alternative, the precautionary actionmay include a combination of any of these aforementioned actions.

According to another aspect, a database that represents the road networkis used to determine locations of blind intersections are located. Then,precautionary action data is added to the database to indicate alocation at which a precautionary action is to be taken about the blindintersection.

According to further aspects, a precautionary action system installed ina vehicle uses this database, or a database derived therefrom, incombination with a positioning system, to determine when the vehicle isat a location that corresponds to the location where a precautionaryaction should be taken. When the vehicle is at such a location, theprecautionary action is taken, such as providing a warning to thevehicle operator, as the vehicle is approaching a blind intersection.Alternatively, the precautionary action may consist of an actualmodification of the operation or control of the vehicle, such asbraking, accelerating, or maneuvering the vehicle, or activating asensor. Alternatively, the precautionary action may include providing aninput to an algorithm that also processes inputs from other sensors fortaking such actions. Alternatively, the precautionary action may beadjustment of sensitivities of other ADAS applications such asincreasing the control authority and sensitivity of a lane departurewarning or control system to lane edge approach and violation. Inanother alternative, the precautionary action may include a combinationof any of these aforementioned actions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a portion of a road network with a blindintersection.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a process that uses a database that representsa road network to identify conditions such as the one shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a data record formed by the process of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a vehicle system that uses data produced by theprocess of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a process performed by the system of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS AND PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 depicts road segments 10, 12 and 14. These road segments meet atan intersection 20. The road segment 12 is curved and located along ahill where it meets the intersection 20. Because of the slope of thehill or the curvature of the road or both, a vehicle driver travelingalong the road segment 12 in the direction toward the intersection 20may not have a good view of the intersection 20 or any vehiclesapproaching the intersection from the road segment 14. Because adriver's view of the intersection is blocked for some distance whiletraveling up to the intersection, the intersection is considered a“blind” intersection. Because of the blocked view, the intersection ispotentially hazardous.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a process 100. The process 100 is performed bya software program or routine that is run on a suitable computingplatform, such as a database server, PC or plurality of PCs coupledtogether for parallel computing applications.

The process 100 uses a database 110 that contains data that representsthe road network in a region. The region may be a country, such as theUnited States, Germany, France or Korea. Alternatively, the region mayinclude several countries or an entire continent. According to anotheralternative, the region may include only a portion of a country, such asa state or several states or metropolitan areas.

The process 100 is performed by a map developer, such as NAVTEQCorporation. Alternatively, the process 100 may be performed by anotherentity that has access to an editable version of a map database 110. Forexample, the process may be performed by a customer or licensee ofNAVTEQ, such as a manufacturer of navigation systems or active safetysystems, or by a traffic information services company or by a governmentoffice at any level.

The database 110 is in a format that can be edited. That is, new orupdated information can be added to the database 110. Alternatively, thedatabase 110 is in a format such that new information can be combinedwith the original data to form a new database that includes both theoriginal data and new data. In one embodiment, the database is in anOracle spatial format. Alternatively, the database may be in deliveryformat, such as GDF (Geographic Data File), SIF (Standard InterchangeFormat), or other formats, including proprietary formats.

As stated above, the database 110 contains data that represents the roadnetwork in the region. The database 110 contains information such as thelocations (geographic coordinates, including altitude) of roads andintersections, road names, the three-dimensional shape of the roadsincluding curvature, slope and bank, speed limits along roads, turnrestrictions at intersections, addresses or address ranges along roads,the number of lanes each road has, lane width, traffic control featuressuch as stop signs and traffic lights, lane markings, functional classesof roads, the locations of medians, and so on. The database may alsocontain information about other geographic features, such as bodies ofwater, parks, administrative areas (including municipal, state andcountry boundaries), and locations of points of interest, such asbusinesses, hospitals, police stations, and so on.

In FIG. 2, the process 100 examines each data record that represents aroad segment (also referred to herein as a “link”) to determine whetherit represents one similar to the road segment 12 or 14 in FIG. 1. (Theprocess 100 may use a procedure that examines in turn each data recordthat represents each road segment represented in the entire database.)In one step, a data record that represents a link or road segment isread from the database 110 (Step 130). This road segment record mayinclude data (e.g., shape points) that indicate whether the road segmentis curved leading into an intersection (i.e., an endpoint of the roadsegment). This data is evaluated (Step 134). If the represented roadsegment is not curved leading into an intersection, the process 100proceeds to a step in which it is determined whether all the roadsegment records in the database have been examined (Steps 136 and 138).If there are more segment records to examine, the process 100 proceedsto get the next segment record (Step 130) and continues.

Referring back to Step 136, if the represented road segment is curved,the process 100 proceeds to obtain the data that represent the segment'selevation (Step 142). The data that represent the segments' elevation isexamined (Step 144). From an examination of segment's curvature leadinginto an intersection, as well as the data that represent the segment'selevation, it is determined whether there exists a blind intersectionalong the road segment (or combination of road segments, such as roadsegments 12 and 14 shown in FIG. 1). If examination of the segment'scurvature and elevation indicates that there is no blind intersection,the process 100 proceeds to the step in which it is determined whetherall the road segment records in the database have been examined (Steps150 and 138) and if there are more segment records to examine, theprocess 100 proceeds to get the next segment record (Step 130).

Referring back to Step 150, if examination of the segment's curvatureand elevation indicates that there is a blind intersection along theroad, the process 100 adds precautionary action data 160 to the database110 (Step 156). The precautionary action data 160 indicates the presenceof a feature in the road network where a precautionary action may betaken. After the precautionary action data 160 is added to the database110, the process 100 proceeds to the step in which it is determinedwhether all the road segment records in the database have been examined(Step 138) and if there are more segment records to examine, the process100 proceeds to get the next segment record (Step 130).

The process 100 ends when it is determined that all the road segmentrecords have been examined (Step 138).

It is noted that the process 100, above, performs a data miningfunction. The existence of the potentially difficult location, i.e., thepresence of a blind intersection along a road, is derived from dataalready collected and present in the database. It is noted that theprocess 100, above, evaluates multiple data items in the originaldatabase, to determine whether the condition exists, in this case, ablind intersection. The blind intersection may be caused by a hill, acurve, a building, landscape, or other geographic feature represented bydata in the database that obstructs a driver's view of an intersection.By evaluating these multiple data items, a determination is made whetherthese multiple data items describe the condition of interest. If thesedata items do describe the condition, a new data item, i.e., theprecautionary action data, is added to the database.

It is further noted that the process 100 may use one or more thresholdswhen evaluating various items of data to determine whether thepotentially hazardous condition exists. For example, the amount ofcurvature along a road segment or the height of an feature may becompared to a threshold to determine whether a driver's view might besufficiently obstructed such that a blind intersection is considered toexist.

FIG. 3 is a diagram that shows a data record 200 in the database 110.The data record 200 represents a road segment located in a geographicregion. As explained above, the geographic region may include an entirecountry or continent. Accordingly, the database 110 includes many datarecords like the one shown in FIG. 3.

The data record 200 shown in FIG. 3 is exemplary and shows only one wayto represent a road segment. Databases may represent road segments invarious different ways and may include different kinds of information.The present invention is not limited to any particular way ofrepresenting roads.

Referring to FIG. 3, various data are associated with the data record200 that represents a road segment. This various data indicates featuresor attributes of the represented road segment. For example, associatedwith the data record is data that indicates the permitted direction(s)of travel. Also associated with the road segment record 200 are datathat indicate a speed limit, a classification of the road segment (i.e.,the type of road, such as controlled access, etc.), a rank (e.g., 1-4),the endpoints of the road segment, shape points (i.e., locations alongthe road segment between its endpoints). Also associated with the roadsegment records is data that indicate the successors at each endpoint.Successors are those road segments that connect to the represented roadsegment at each of its endpoints. The segment record 200 may identifythese successors by reference to the data records that represent thesuccessors.

In FIG. 3, the database 110 also includes precautionary action data 160.The precautionary action data 160 is the data added to the database 110by the process 100 in FIG. 2. In FIG. 3, the precautionary action data160 is shown as added to the road segment record 200. It should beunderstood that the process 100 adds precautionary action data 160 withrespect to only certain records, i.e., records that represent thoseroads segments that meet the conditions identified by the process.Accordingly, the database 110 will contain data records that representroad segments that contain the precautionary action data 160 and otherdata records that represent road segments that do not contain theprecautionary action data 160.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the precautionary action data 160 isassociated with the road segment identified as having a blindintersection. In this embodiment, the precautionary action data 160includes several components. One component 160(1) indicates a conditiontype. This condition type 160(1) indicates the type of condition aboutwhich a precautionary action is to be taken, which in this case is ablind intersection. This condition type 160(1) component is used whendifferent conditions are identified in the database 110 about whichprecautionary action may be taken.

Another component of the precautionary action data 160 is theprecautionary action location 160(2). The precautionary action location160(2) indicates where along the represented road segment aprecautionary action may be taken. The precautionary action location160(2) data may include multiple entries. For example, the precautionaryaction location 160(2) may indicate where a warning may be provided to avehicle driver to advise the driver about the upcoming condition, i.e.,the blind intersection. In the case of a blind intersection, the warninglocation 160(2) may indicate a distance (e.g., x meters) from the blindintersection. The location 160(2) is determined based on an analysis offactors, such as the slope of the hill (if any), the speed limit alongthe represented road segment, the road classification, and possiblyother factors. These factors may be determined from other data containedin the database 110. According to one example, the location 160(2) mayindicate that a warning should be provided at a location 400 metersalong the road segment from the blind intersection.

The precautionary action location 160(2) may also indicate where avehicle control action should be taken, such as tightening theseatbelts, pre-loading or engaging the brakes, tightening sensitivitiesof lane departure warning systems or stability control systems, etc.This may be a different location from where the precautionary warning isprovided and would be based on a different analysis of factors.

Another component of the precautionary action data 160 is direction data160(3). The direction data 160(3) indicates the direction along therepresented road segment where the precautionary action should be taken.In this case, the direction data 160(3) indicates the direction towardthe blind intersection. (Note that the database 110 may indicate adirection along a road segment as positive or negative based on therelative latitude and longitude of the road segment endpoints.Accordingly, the direction may be indicated as positive or negative.)

Another component of the precautionary action data 160 is a reference160(4). In this case, the reference 160(4) indicates the blindintersection.

The precautionary action data 160 described in FIG. 3 is one way thatthis data may be included in a database that represents a geographicregion. There are alternative ways to include the precautionary actiondata. For example, the precautionary action data may be included asseparate data records in the database 110. If included as separate datarecords, the precautionary action data may be associated with the roadsegments to which they apply by pointers or other suitable datareferences. Alternatively, the precautionary action data may beassociated with node data records, i.e., the data that represent theintersections, instead of the road segments leading to theintersections. Various other ways exist and the present invention is notintended to be restricted to any specific implementation.

FIG. 4 is a diagram depicting components of a vehicle 300. The vehicle300 is operated on a road network, such as the road network representedby the database 110 in FIG. 2. The vehicle 300 may be an automobile,truck, bicycle, motorcycle, etc.

The vehicle 300 includes systems 310. In this embodiment, the vehiclesystems 310 include a positioning system 320. The positioning system 320determines the position of the vehicle 300 on the road network. Thepositioning system 320 includes appropriate hardware and software todetermine the position of the vehicle 300. For example, the positioningsystem may include hardware 322 that includes a GPS unit, anaccelerometer, wheel speed sensors, etc. The positioning system 320 alsoincludes a positioning application 324. The positioning application 324is a software application that uses outputs from the positioning systemhardware 322 and information from a map database 330. The positioningapplication 324 determines the position of the vehicle 300 with respectto the road network, including the location of the vehicle 300 along aroad segment and a direction of travel of the vehicle along the roadsegment.

In one embodiment, the map database 330 is located in the vehicle. In analternative embodiment, the map database 330 may be located remotely andaccessed by the vehicle systems 310 using a wireless communicationsystem. In yet another embodiment, part of the map database 330 may belocated locally in the vehicle and part of the map database 330 may belocated remotely.

The map database 330 is stored on a computer readable medium 334. Thecomputer-readable medium may be implemented using any suitabletechnology. For example, the computer readable medium may be a DVD disk,a CD-ROM disk, a hard disk, flash memory, or any other medium, or aplurality of media.

The map database 330 includes data that represents the geographic regionin which the vehicle 300 is being operated. The map database 330 mayrepresent the same geographic region as the database 110 in FIG. 2, oralternatively, the map database 330 may represent only a portion of theregion represented by the database 110.

The map database 330 used by the vehicle systems 310 may be in adifferent format from the database 110 in FIG. 2. The map database 330is formed or derived from the database 110 by a compilation process thatorganizes and presents the data in a form and format that specificallyfacilitates its use for performing specific functions. For example, themap database 330 may be separated into different collections of datathat are used for specific functions, such as vehicle positioning, routecalculation, map display, route guidance, destination selection, and soon. The map database 330 may also be organized into groupings spatially.One kind of compiled database format is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,968,109, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by referenceherein. Various other compiled database formats exist, includingproprietary formats, and the disclosed embodiment(s) are not limited toany particular format.

Included among the vehicle systems 310 in FIG. 4 is a navigation system340. The navigation system 340 uses outputs from the positioning system320 and data from the map database 330 to provide navigation-relatedfeatures to a vehicle user, e.g., the vehicle operator or passenger. Thenavigation system 340 includes applications for route calculation 344,map display 346, as well as possibly other applications. The navigationsystem 340 provides the navigation-related features to the vehicle uservia a user interface 354. (The navigation system 340 is optional and maybe omitted.)

Also included among the vehicle systems 310 is a precautionary actionapplication 350. The precautionary action application 350 uses outputsfrom the positioning system 320 and data from the map database 330 totake precautionary actions, such as provide warnings to the vehicleoperator. The precautionary action application 350 provides the warningto the vehicle operator via the user interface 354.

FIG. 4 also shows that precautionary action application 350 provides anoutput to vehicle control systems and actuator 356. The vehicle controlsystems and actuator are operatively connected to various vehiclemechanical systems, such as the vehicle's brakes 356(1), engine 356(2),seatbelts (including tensioners) 356(3), airbags 356(4), stabilitycontrol algorithms, as well as other system systems 356(5).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart 400 showing operation of the precautionary actionapplication 350 (in FIG. 4). As the vehicle 300 (in FIG. 4) is beingoperated on a road, the precautionary action application 350 obtains thecurrent vehicle position from the positioning system 320 (Step 410).(During vehicle operation, the positioning system 320 continuouslydetermines the current geographic position of the vehicle 300 as thevehicle is being operated using data from the map database 330.) Thepositioning system 320 provides the precautionary action applicationwith data that indicates the current vehicle position with respect tothe road network as represented by the map database 330. Specifically,the location of the vehicle along a road segment and the direction oftravel of the vehicle along the road segment are determined and providedto the precautionary action application 350.

Next, the process 400 obtains data from the map database 300 thatrepresents the geographic features (i.e., roads, intersections, etc.) atthe current location of the vehicle and in the direction in which thevehicle is heading (Step 420). In one embodiment, an electronic horizonis used (Step 430). Building an electronic horizon and using it toprovide warnings are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,405,128 and 6,735,515and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/400,151, the entire disclosuresof which are incorporated by reference herein. Using an electronichorizon and/or the inventions disclosed in these patents and pendingpatent application is optional and the disclosed process 400 is notlimited to using the electronic horizon technology.

After obtaining data from the map database 300 that represents thegeographic features at the current location of the vehicle and in thedirection in which the vehicle is heading, the process 400 includes thestep of examining the data to determine whether any precautionary actiondata (160 in FIG. 3) is associated with the represented geographicfeatures (Step 440). If there is no precautionary action data associatedwith the represented geographic features, the process 400 loops back toget a new current vehicle position (Step 410). On the other hand, ifthere is precautionary action data associated with the representedgeographic features, the process 400 takes a precautionary action (Step450). The precautionary action may be a warning provided to the vehicleoperator when the vehicle is at the location (i.e., 160(2) in FIG. 3)indicated by the precautionary action data. The warning may be providedvia the user interface 354. The warning may be an audible warningmessage or a visual warning.

The precautionary action is not limited to warnings, but may alsoinclude other actions. For example, in the case of a blind intersection,vehicle systems 356, such as the brakes, engine or transmission, can bereadied for a quick deceleration or stop. In addition, the seatbelts maybe tightened or the airbags set to deploy. As explained above, tofacilitate these kinds of actions, additional information may be addedto the warning data 160 (in FIG. 3) to indicate the type of action aswell as the location where the action should be taken.

Referring still to FIG. 5, after taking the precautionary action, theprocess 400 loops back to get a new current vehicle position (Step 410).

Alternative with Dynamic Data

The process (400 in FIG. 5) was described as a way to use theprecautionary action data that had been stored in the map database totake an appropriate action in a vehicle when the vehicle is at or isapproaching a location identified as having a potentially hazardouscondition. This process uses a positioning system and map database inthe vehicle to determine when the vehicle is at or is approaching such alocation. The process may also take into account dynamic information.Dynamic information may include current traffic and weather conditions,ambient light conditions, road conditions (e.g., ice), and so on. Thevehicle may include systems to obtain such information. For example, thevehicle may have a traffic data receiver that obtains real-time trafficinformation, e.g., RDS-TMC messages. The process 400 may use the dynamicinformation in combination with the precautionary action data. Forexample, the process may modify the location at which a warning isprovided. As an example, if weather conditions indicate that it israining, the location at which a warning is provided to the vehicledriver about a blind intersection may be modified, i.e., adjusted to apoint farther in advance of the location of the hazardous condition, inorder to give the vehicle operator additional time or distance. Theprocess may even take certain actions only under certain conditions. Forexample, a warning about a blind intersection may be provided onlyduring nighttime hours. During daylight, the condition may not warrant awarning.

Verification

The process (100 in FIG. 2) was described as a way to automaticallyexamine records in a database that represents roads to identifylocations or conditions along the road network where a precautionaryaction might be taken. According to the described process, data is thenadded to indicate the location where the precautionary action should betaken. Alternatively, instead of automatically adding the precautionaryaction data to the database, the locations where such conditions areidentified could be marked on a temporary basis. Then, a geographicanalyst (or other human operator) could review some or all suchtemporarily marked locations. The analyst may conduct this review byphysically traveling to the locations or by reviewing satellite oraerial photographs of the locations, or video taken while driving by thelocations (previously or subsequently acquired either by the analyst orothers including members of the public). Based on the review, theanalyst then determines whether precautionary action data should beadded to the database.

It is intended that the foregoing detailed description be regarded asillustrative rather than limiting and that it is understood that thefollowing claims including all equivalents are intended to define thescope of the invention.

I claim:
 1. A computer implemented method for providing precautionary actions in a vehicle, the method comprising: evaluating, by a computer processor prior to the vehicle's approach to a location ahead thereof, a combination of data items representing different road network features associated with the location in a database coupled therewith, at least one of which is undetected by at least one sensor provided on the vehicle, to determine whether the combination of the different road network features describes a condition of interest, the database comprising previously collected data representative of features of a road network in a geographic area; and upon the determination that the combination of data items describe the condition of interest, providing an output, by the computer processor, operative to maneuver of the vehicle via modification, by the computer processor, of the operation or control of the vehicle.
 2. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein, subsequent to the determining and prior to the providing, the combination as describing the condition of interest has been validated by a human being based on an inspection.
 3. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the determination is further based on sufficient comments occurring about the particular location received via community input from citizens or organizations.
 4. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the condition of interest is selected from a group comprising: a turn with a decreasing radius of curvature, a turn where the superelevation (bank angle) is insufficient or in the wrong direction, a downhill segment that has an intersection at the bottom of the hill, a downhill segment that has a stop sign or stoplight at the bottom of the hill, a sharp curve on a downhill slope, a curve that has a stop sign or stoplight somewhere along the curve, a blind intersection either because it is in a turn or over a hill, an unusually narrow lane or road, a lane merge, a road entrance with no stop sign or stoplight that has no merge lane, and a curve with a lower speed recommendation than the preceding straight segment speed limit.
 5. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the at least one different road network feature is undetected by the at least one sensor because it lies beyond the range thereof.
 6. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the at least one different road network feature is undetected by the at least one sensor because it is obscured by inclement weather.
 7. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the providing further comprises evaluating, by the computer processor, another condition, wherein the providing further comprises upon the determination that the combination describes the condition of interest, and the other condition is satisfied, providing the output, by the computer processor, for the maneuvering of the vehicle.
 8. The computer implemented method of claim 7 wherein the other condition comprises at least one of the different road network features represented by the multiple data items deviating from a threshold value.
 9. The computer implemented method of claim 7 wherein the other condition comprises occurrence of a dynamic condition at a location of the vehicle at least at the time of the providing.
 10. The computer implemented method of claim 9 wherein the dynamic conditions include current traffic conditions, current weather conditions, current ambient light conditions, current road conditions, or combinations thereof.
 11. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the different road network features represented by the combination are in physical proximity to the location.
 12. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the maneuvering of the vehicle occurs prior to arrival at the location.
 13. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the evaluating further comprises adding, by the computer processor, precautionary action data to the database when it is determined that the combination describes the condition of interest.
 14. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the evaluating further comprises determining, by the computer processor, precautionary action data that indicates where a precautionary action may be taken when it is determined that the combination describes the condition of interest.
 15. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the evaluating further comprises determining, by the computer processor, precautionary action data that indicates a direction of travel in which to take a precautionary action when it is determined that the combination describes the condition of interest and the it is further determined that the vehicle is approaching the location in the determined direction of travel.
 16. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the evaluating further comprises determining, by the computer processor, precautionary action data that indicates a type of condition about which a precautionary action is to be taken when it is determined that the combination describes the condition of interest.
 17. A computer implemented method for providing precautionary actions in a vehicle comprising: evaluating, by a computer processor, multiple data items associated with a location and already collected and present in a database that contains data items that represents features of a road network in a geographic area, at least one of which is undetectable by at least one sensor provided on the vehicle; determining, by the computer processor, whether, when a combination of the features represented by the multiple data items describe a condition of interest; and upon determining that the combination describes a condition of interest, providing an output, by the computer processor, for maneuvering the vehicle when approaching the location by modifying operation or control of the vehicle.
 18. The computer implemented method of claim 17 wherein the database is located in the vehicle.
 19. The computer implemented method of claim 17 wherein the database is located remotely and accessed by vehicle systems in the vehicle.
 20. The computer implemented method of claim 17 wherein part of the database is located locally in the vehicle and part of the database is located remotely.
 21. The computer implemented method of claim 17 wherein the at least one road network feature is undetectable by the at least one sensor because it lies beyond the range thereof or is obscured therefrom.
 22. A vehicle system comprising: a sensor operative to sense one or more road network features ahead of the vehicle; a positioning system that determines a current location of the vehicle; and a precautionary action application responsive to the positioning system and operative to provide an output for maneuvering the vehicle to modify the operation thereof when the positioning system determines that the current location of the vehicle is approaching a location of features, represented by a combination of multiple data items determined to describe a condition of interest based on an evaluation of the subset of multiple data items stored in a database of previously collected data that represents features of a road network in a geographic area, at least one of which is undetectable by the sensor.
 23. The system of claim 22 wherein the precautionary action application is further operative to indicate a location along a road segment at which the maneuvering of the vehicle is to be undertaken by a vehicle system.
 24. The system of claim 22 wherein the precautionary action application is further operative to indicate a direction along a road segment at which the maneuvering of the vehicle is to be undertaken.
 25. The system of claim 22 wherein the features comprise an intersection along the road and another geographic feature where, in combination, the driver's view of the intersection is obstructed by the other geographic feature.
 26. The system of claim 22 wherein the precautionary action application is further operative to provide the output for maneuvering the vehicle based on precautionary action data stored in the database in association with the location of the features.
 27. The system of claim 26 wherein the precautionary action data indicates a type of condition about which maneuvering the vehicle is to be undertaken.
 28. The system of claim 22 wherein the road network features represented by the combinations of multiple data items associated with the location lie beyond the range of, or are obscured from, the sensor.
 29. The system of claim 22 wherein the precautionary action application is further operative to evaluate another condition, wherein the precautionary action application is further operative to provide the output, upon the determination that combination describes the condition of interest, and the other condition is satisfied, for the maneuvering of the vehicle.
 30. The system of claim 29 wherein the other condition comprises at least one of the road network features represented by the subset of multiple data items deviating from a threshold value.
 31. The system of claim 29 wherein the other condition comprises occurrence of a dynamic condition at a location of the vehicle at least at the time of the providing.
 32. The computer implemented method of claim 31 wherein the dynamic conditions include current traffic conditions, current weather conditions, current ambient light conditions, current road conditions, or combinations thereof.
 33. The system of claim 22 wherein the maneuvering of the vehicle occurs at the location.
 34. The system of claim 22 wherein the maneuvering of the vehicle occurs prior to arrival at the location.
 35. A computer implemented method for providing precautionary actions in a vehicle comprising: sensing, by at least one sensor located on the vehicle, one or more road network features ahead of the vehicle; determining by a computer processor, a current position of the vehicle; providing an output, by the computer processor, for maneuvering the vehicle to modify the operation thereof when the positioning system determines that the current location of the vehicle is approaching a location of features, represented by multiple data items, a combination of which describes a condition of interest based on an evaluation of the multiple data items stored in a database of previously collected data that represents features of a road network in a geographic area, at least one of which is undetectable by the sensor when the vehicle is approaching the location.
 36. The computer implemented method of claim 35 further comprising: building by the computer processor, an electronic horizon after accessing the database; and using by the computer processor, the electronic horizon to determine whether the maneuvering of the vehicle should be undertaken.
 37. The computer implemented method of claim 35 wherein the maneuvering of the vehicle is provided via a user interface of the vehicle.
 38. The computer implemented method of claim 35 wherein the precautionary action application is further operative to indicate a location along a road segment at which the maneuvering of the vehicle is to be undertaken by a vehicle system.
 39. The computer implemented method of claim 35 further comprising indicating, by the computer processor, a direction along a road segment at which the maneuvering of the vehicle is to be undertaken.
 40. The computer implemented method of claim 35 wherein the features comprise an intersection along the road and another geographic feature where, in combination, the driver's view of the intersection is obstructed by the other geographic feature.
 41. The computer implemented method of claim 35 further comprising providing the output, by the computer processor, for maneuvering of the vehicle based on precautionary action data stored in the database in association with the location of the features.
 42. The computer implemented method of claim 41 wherein the precautionary action data indicates a type of condition about which maneuvering of the vehicle is to be undertaken.
 43. The computer implemented method of claim 35 wherein the at least one road network feature lies beyond the range of, or is obscured from, the at least one sensor.
 44. The computer implemented method of claim 35 wherein the providing further comprises evaluating, by the computer processor, another condition, wherein the providing further comprises upon the determination that the combination describes the condition of interest, and the other condition is satisfied, providing the output, by the computer processor, for the maneuvering of the vehicle.
 45. The computer implemented method of claim 44 wherein the other condition comprises at least one of the road network features represented by the multiple data items deviating from a threshold value.
 46. The computer implemented method of claim 44 wherein the other condition comprises occurrence of a dynamic condition at a location of the vehicle at least at the time of the providing.
 47. The computer implemented method of claim 35 wherein the maneuvering of the vehicle occurs at the location.
 48. The computer implemented method of claim 35 wherein the maneuvering of the vehicle occurs prior to arrival at the location. 